Former elite soldier Joshua Faulkhead jailed for running drug syndicate

This was published 4 years ago

Former elite soldier Joshua Faulkhead jailed for running drug syndicate

A former elite soldier who headed a major drug syndicate for the Comancheros bikie gang operating out of Mildura has been sentenced to nine years and five months' jail.

County Court Judge Michael Bourke said he felt genuine sympathy for Joshua Faulkhead, who continued to suffer from chronic post-traumatic stress disorder from time spent in war-torn East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Surveillance photo of Joshua Faulkhead boarding a plane to Sydney.

Surveillance photo of Joshua Faulkhead boarding a plane to Sydney.

But the judge said Faulkhead had to receive a lengthy jail sentence, given his offending had involved prolonged drug trafficking on a large scale enforced by violence and intimidation.

Faulkhead, 39, originally from Mildura, pleaded guilty to charges including trafficking in ice, cocaine, ecstasy and anabolic steroids, intentionally causing serious injury, affray, theft and blackmail.


Faulkhead had joined the army when he was 21 and served for six years, and he was considered an elite soldier.

He completed two tours of duty in East Timor acting as a forward scout conducting surveillance into enemy lines, which was considered dangerous, high-pressure work. He later claimed to have also been a sniper.

Faulkhead suffered depression and anxiety during his time in the army before leaving in 2004 and working as a security contractor in the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan, where he was nicknamed the 'White Devil", providing an armed escort service to clients.

Faulkhead also began abusing anabolic steroids but the judge rejected the defence submission that this was common among elite soldiers.

Judge Bourke said Faulkhead had developed post-traumatic stress disorder with paranoid and psychotic features by the time he returned to Australia.

A psychological report revealed Faulkhead's PTSD meant he was vulnerable to being recruited by the Comancheros to run the drug syndicate in his home town of Mildura.

Faulkhead was no doubt motivated to make money for himself and the bikie gang but his offending had been significantly influenced by his disturbed mental state, the judge said.

Faulkhead recruited a former Rebels bikie turned Comancheros, whose name has been suppressed, to become his right-hand man and enforcer to eliminate any competition.

But Faulkhead's trusted lieutenant later turned on him and agreed to give evidence against him. He was later jailed for four years and four months with a non-parole period of 30 months after pleading to trafficking a commercial quantity of methamphetamine and assault charges.

Faulkhead would often put on his Comancheros-badged shirt before bashing a drug dealer who owed the syndicate money. He claimed to no longer be a member of the bikie gang.

Judge Bourke accepted Faulkhead had been an exemplary soldier who had displayed many fine qualities before becoming involved in the drug ring, which was out of character.

Faulkhead, who has a 12-year-old son from his previous marriage, was sentenced to nine years and five months' jail with a non-parole period of six years.

Judge Bourke said he hoped Faulkhead would receive treatment from the Austin Hospital's PTSD program for war veterans and police officers when released on parole.

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